Guardian Angels
by Skyward Deviant
Summary: Christine must return to a man who had once inspired her voice but whom had struck great fear within her soul. Will he still be her angel or her worst nightmare?
1. Chapter 1: He'll Always Be There

**Guardian Angels**

**A _Phantom Of The Opera_ Fanfiction**

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: I do _NOT_ own _Phantom. _****It belongs to Mr. Gaston Leroux originally and the music to Mr. Andrew Lloyd Webber :)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: This is my first Phantom fanfic ever so it'll get better as it goes on! :) Please enjoy and review!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter One**

**Phantom's POV**

From the inside of my smashed-in mirror I could hear the dead silence of my lair, the voices of my pursuers having faded into the night. I heaved a heavy breath and crept out warily, the sound of shattered glass crunching underfoot. As I looked out into my lair, the glassy lake sparkled in the candlelight before me as silence surrounded me, the solitary Phantom of the Opera.

It was nothing out of the ordinary, since everyone I had ever known had shown me no compassion or love.

Except for Christine Daaé.

At the mention of her name, my heart fluttered and I felt all the happiness in the world.

There was only one problem. She loved another man.

I could understand this after the way I had treated her in the past.

_Damn you, you prissy prima donna vicomte. _I snarled in my head. _Christine Daa_é _is MY angel! And she will be mine once more, one way or another!  
_

Then I had a thought, a most brilliant thought to make my way up to Christine's dressing room, to the two-way mirror from which I had watched Christine for years, coaching her and perfecting her voice that would eventually make her a star.

As I stood in the mirror, watching the lonely dressing room, I could see Christine sitting at her vanity, brushing her long, curly locks of brown hair. I felt a hot blush settle across my face and under my mask as I gazed lovingly at her, mesmerized the sight of her. She flicked a match against the box and lit a candle, putting her hands together to pray, most likely for her father who had passed away so many years before.

* * *

**Christine's POV**

I only stared into the mirror at my reflection, wondering why I was doing this.

I was leaving the Opera House with Raoul, my fiance, and my dressing room was completely stripped of its former contents for everything I had ever owned was packed away, boxes placed all over the room, ready for me to take as Raoul and I prepared to go away from this place forever. And yet, I didn't want to go with him. Not at all. Part of me told me to stay but the other told me that going with Raoul would prevent my life from being threatened ever again. I had once faced a dilemma similar to this only that time I had been forced to perform in the stage production of _Don Juan Triumphant_, to be used as bait for Raoul and the occupants of the Opera Populaire to catch the ever-elusive 'Phantom of The Opera'.

But even this was different. I wanted to stay.

I found myself wanting to face the Phantom alone this time and see if he and I couldn't come to an understanding of some sort.

I scolded myself mentally, knowing that that had been a foolish thought.

The man was a ruthless killer, a savage at heart... and yet he had allowed Raoul and I to go free. That had been when his true heart had been revealed to the world, showing to me and my fiance that he, the Phantom of the Opera, was indeed human as well somewhere deep down inside. I thought about how he'd captivated me in more ways than one. I couldn't believe this was the same man, this angel, whom I first had heard in my dreams and while I was alone at age seven. He'd taught me to sing and helped me become the chorus girl I was today.

In the first few moments of actually seeing him for the first time in my life, the first time I had seen my 'Angel of Music' in the mirror of my dressing room, he had taken my spirit hostage with his smooth, hypnotizing voice. Though I was still free from him physically, having escaped from his lair with Raoul only a few hours ago, in my mind I was not.

My every thought since the last time I'd seen the Phantom had been about him... and I couldn't stop them.

I wished he would return to me despite all we had been through, despite all that he had done to me, Raoul, and the occupants of the opera house. But I would not, for I knew I had shattered his already broken heart by escaping from his lair with Raoul. He probably was miles away by now, on the run from the life he had known for a long time. But there was not one place in all of France, nor the world, I knew, that he would be safe like he had been here.

I finished my prayer for my father and sat back at my vanity, feeling like something stronger than what I had with Raoul come over me; indeed it had, because all my thoughts were still of the Phantom and what had happened the night of our final confrontation. I remembered the look within his pleading brown eyes as soon as my lips had left his in an attempt to save Raoul's life. Those same lonely, longing eyes had pierced my soul once before, when I had first met the man; only this time when I thought of them, I felt a hot blush settle over my face, a feeling I had never had toward such a pitiful creature before.

Then the door opened and in came a man.

I didn't bother to look back for I was too tired from the excursions the night before down into the Phantom's lair beneath the prestigious opera house where I had become a beloved star, an overnight star. **  
**

"Christine..." Said a man's voice, causing my pulse to shoot through the roof for he had scared me. "Are you ready to go?"

I turned to my childhood sweetheart, Raoul, with tears streaming down my face.

"Darling, why are you crying?" He asked me, genuine concern sparkling in his eyes.

How I wanted to throw up at the sound of him.

"I can't go, Raoul. I can't leave this place." I managed.

"What are you talking about? Why?" Raoul asked me, approaching me.

By this time, my heart was aching for what reason I didn't know and I looked to him, his eyes catching mine in an intent gaze.

I shook my head, allowing more tears to flow down my face; I didn't know what I was crying about or whom for but my heartache was too unbearable to speak. He then took me in a hug and held me to him, making me all the more uncomfortable; I pushed him away and turned back to my vanity. I didn't understand this. I _didn't_ love him anymore. The strangest feeling came over me, stronger than the power the Phantom had ever had over me, as I thought about the time I had kissed the Phantom in my greatest attempt to save Raoul.

I had this undeniable urge to see the Phantom again.

He'd had a more profound effect on me than I had realized. In that instance when the Phantom's lips had met mine, I must have fallen in love with him, previously having only kissing him through pity and compassion toward him. I had fallen in love with the man who'd inspired my voice, the same person who had killed so many people, and who had terrified me so greatly. I got up from my vanity and away from Raoul.

"I can't do this, Raoul." I said to him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Something happened while we were down there in the Phantom's lair."

"What? What happened?"

"Nothing- nothing that you need to know! I need to see my angel again." I said. "I need to talk to him. I need to tell him the truth!"

"What truth?" Raoul asked. By now I could tell his heart was breaking. "Come on, Christine. Forget him. He's gone. But I'm here... and I always will be."

"No, Raoul." I told him firmly.

He was taken aback, fear in his eyes.

"But... you promised me-"

"Now I'm breaking that promise. Leave me alone!"

"Christine! What are you saying?" Raoul roughly took me by the shoulders. "You and I are engaged! We _love_ each other!"

Then I turned to Raoul and looked at him in disgust for the first time in my entire life.

"I'm not so sure about that anymore, Raoul! Not with the way you're acting!"

"But... he's a hideous monster! You even said it yourself!"

"I said no such thing! And another thing- beauty is only skin deep, Raoul. It's what's in the soul that it truly matters! Only now did I realize that applies to you too!"

"What about _me_? What about our promise? What about all that we said?"

"I _don't_ love you!" She said. "I love the Phantom! When I was with him did I realize where my loyalties lie!"

"You can't do this to me, Christine! I'm going to give you everything you've ever dreamed of!"

* * *

**Phantom's POV**

My eyes shot open and I leapt backwards in shock at the mention of those words, my heart racing with excitement and terror at the same time. I couldn't believe my ears. Surely, I thought, my angel couldn't have said that about me, a man who had inflicted so much pain and agony on her. But I _had_ heard it from her lips; it was a most extraordinary feeling.

She was in love with me! _Me_! Of all people!

As I continued to watch Christine and the vicomte through the mirror of the dressing room, I noticed that the vicomte had gotten extremely close to Christine and was speaking to her in a rough manner, causing my anger to flare violently. I could hear Christine protesting him helplessly and the vicomte growing increasingly more angry as the moments wore on. I then began to worry about my angel's safety and watched as she resisted him more and more; by this time, Raoul was yelling and Christine was cornered up against the mirror, the vicomte's motions frightening even me for a few seconds. I could hear his voice clearly now.

"Tell me, Christine! Tell me you don't love him! Tell me you love _me_!" He snarled at her.

"No! Stay away from me!"

By now, I could barely control my anger, watching from the shadows as he threatened her and caused her to shrink into a sobbing mess on the floor. This I could not bear to watch anymore and I watched as Christine leaped away from the vicomte and across the room to the door, trying her best to get away from the man threatening her so. A growl crossed my vocal cords and I flung myself to the mirror, standing there like a ghost as I had been perceived many times before. I could see Raoul moving toward her, yelling at her even more now and causing her to cry even harder.

"Ignorant fool! _Foolish pretty boy! Unhand the girl_!" I cast my voice into the room, listening to it echo in the chamber behind the mirror.

Raoul stopped before Christine and whipped around to face the mirror; I ducked out of the mirror and into the black shadows, not willing to let him see me at all.

"I know it's you there!" He shouted, seeing nothing. "Show yourself, you hideous abomination! Come out of the shadows and fight me like a real man!"

"Your words are useless, slave of fashion!" I snapped at him. "Unhand the girl or a disaster beyond your imagination will occur."

"You'll have to fight me for her!"

"Phantom! Help me!" Christine called to me.

That was a request I could not refuse as it sounded so helpless, lost, and hurt.

It was now no matter to me if I had hurt and frightened Christine in the past! I had to save her and protect her at any cost, even to the sacrifice of my own safety. I leapt into full view in the mirror and caused the vicomte to gasp; he then turned away from me with an angry look on his face. I heard Christine scream in terror and Raoul picked her up off of her feet, flinging her over his shoulder and he disappeared out the door of the dressing room.

I quickly disappeared into the shadows, determined to save my angel.

I found myself stalking around in the rafters above the stage, wondering where the vicomte could have taken Christine. I carefully watched over the stage, surprised to know that it hadn't been damaged all that badly by the fire started from the chandelier, except for the orchestra pit and the first ten rows of the crimson velvet chairs which were all black and charred from the fire from the night before.

Then my attention snapped to where I heard voices beyond the stage.

Then I watched as Raoul began dragging Christine behind him across the floor of the great theatre like a rag doll, leaving her crying and struggling to get away. He was still yelling at her, attracting all kinds of attention from the usual people who lolled around the theatre. I watched from above, as any proper angel should, as he grabbed her viciously by the wrists and continued barking into her face as though she were just a piece of garbage.

I blinked, regretfully remembering when I had dragged her into my lair in the same fashion.

Then I shook the thought from my mind.

I had known what it was like to be treated like something lower than dirt. I shared in Christine's pain, knowing what insults could do to the mind and soul. I felt the incredible urge to kill the young man aggressively handling my protege as though she was merely a possession, something to be thrown around at one's leisure.

But I knew I could not kill him, for I was already wanted for carrying out so many murders in my past.

_Insolent boy_! My mind screamed. _Abusive excuse for a man, you shall not harm my angel anymore!_

Consumed by uncontrollable rage, I took one of the nearest ropes and climbed up onto the railing of the swaying wooden walkway, prepared to swing down and enter the scene as if I had been appearing in a play on my cue; grasping the rope tightly in my black gloved hands, I leapt and soared like a magnificent bird of prey down onto center stage, knocking Raoul in the head with my foot. I then landed near Christine and picked her gently up off the floor, holding her in my arms as I drew my sword.

A choir of gasps erupted around me and I spotted Raoul, who was busy picking himself up off the floor from a small pool of blood, a result of where I had kicked him in the jaw. Among the astonished people standing before me on the stage were Madame Giry and her daughter Meg, my managers, the messieurs Firmin and Andre, Carlotta Giudicelli, and the maestro. They all kept their eyes locked on me, the shock still overwhelming them. But this wasn't the first time they all had ever seen me.

I then turned my attention to Christine, whom I held tightly in my arms now.

"Christine..." I whispered to the young woman who was shaking violently.

"You came to save me, Phantom." She whispered back to me, taking the side of my face that was covered by my mask into her soft touch.

"You'll be all right." I said to her, allowing her to lay her head on my shoulder. "Your angel will protect you."

Suddenly, I saw Raoul pull himself up off of the stage and began charging toward me, a sword pointed in my direction.

I quickly carried Christine to Madame Giry, trusting her to guard her temporarily and lunged at the foolish vicomte. He tried outsmarting me by taking a swipe at my face with his sword as I wasn't looking but I instinctively hurled my sword toward his, the metallic clash ringing through the opera house. I then pushed him away with my hand and he fell on his back to the stage. I leapt at him, my foot placed on his chest and I held my sword high over his head.

"No! Phantom!" Christine called to me.

I looked back to her briefly, remembering the day in the cemetery when Raoul had spared my life at his lover's request.

My debt was to be repaid indeed and I felt myself sheathe my sword.

I stepped back from him and turned away, shocking even myself.

Then I was greeted by a weak Christine running toward me and colliding with me in a tight hug; I then wrapped my arms around her. She sobbed as I held her and I stroked her head of long brown hair gently, trying to calm her down as best I could. I sensed Raoul coming toward me once again, using only his bare hands to fight me, but, as always, I was entirely too quick for him. I leapt in front of Christine who Madame Giry soon led back over into the area where everyone else was congregated.

I was so concerned for Christine's safety, I had let my guard down and left myself vulnerable to the foolish man trying to kill me in an attempt to win back the girl who would never love him again. His fist met my cheek in a brutal punch, the one opposite to the one my mask covered and I felt myself fall toward the floor; I'd expected to land in a hard thud to the ground but I realized that I only kept falling, since nothing there to stop me. I was falling through the trap door that had been used for a scene in _Don Juan Triumphant_, my own opera, and down into the depths below the Opera Populaire.

"_NO!_" I heard a young voice scream from above.

I closed my eyes, hoping that this was only a dream as I fell further and further, more rapidly into the abysmal darkness until I felt the collision of my back and the stone floor. I groaned, awaiting my death for surely, I knew, that I would die from taking such a fall. I was going to hell, even more of one than in which I'd already lived, for sure. I closed my eyes and awaited my death.

* * *

**Author's Note: I tweaked it a little bit from the original. I worked really hard to keep the characters true to the movie, except when I turned their attitudes around to fit the story. I worked really hard on this, so please review! I'd love to hear what you all thought! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: I Am The Mask You Wear

**Guardian Angels**

**A _Phantom Of The Opera_ Fanfiction**

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: I do _NOT_ own _Phantom. _****It belongs to Mr. Gaston Leroux originally and the music to Mr. Andrew Lloyd Webber :)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: All right! Chapter two! Whoo! I'm having a blast writing this, if you couldn't tell :)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Two**

**Phantom's POV**

It seemed to me like years before I realized where I lay in the outermost part of my lair, having fallen onto the cold stone floor after my fall from the world above. All I could hear was the sound of water dripping all around me and I only smelled fire from the candles somewhere deep inside my lair. For a second, I caught myself wondering where I was even though I had already known. My body ached very badly but I was more concerned with the fact that I wasn't dead after the fall I had taken. I moved my arm slowly, making sure I wasn't completely paralyzed because of the damage the fall could have done on me as well. I wasn't.

A groan escaped my lungs and I rolled over onto my side, only having known this kind of pain once before in my entire life.

I closed my eyes, remembering the searing pain of the whip on my skin, tearing awful gashes into me with searing, burning pain. The man who had struck me with the whip so many, many times throughout my life at the circus, in the freak show, had been a gypsy. He was a dismal, cruel man with a heart black as though someone had spilled ink all over it and neglected to make an attempt at wiping it away.

Distinctly, I remembered the sack being ripped off of my head, the light from outside the cage I was kept in flooding my face.

There were people. People who had come to see me. And not in a good way. I had been nothing but an object, used for entertainment when my own personal safety and future were at stake. Nobody cared about me... nobody. My own mother had shown me no love, having sold me to a freak show.

_This face... which earned... a mother's fear and loathing... _I remembered my words to Christine. _A mask... my first... unfeeling scrap of clothing. Pity comes too late. Turn around and face your fate. An eternity of this before your eyes!_

And I also recalled my hair being grabbed violently, my young, horrid face cast toward paying customers who wanted to see the "Devil's Child".

My abhorrent face and how people had laughed at it had made me fear and dread the world.

This caused me to shun the daylight and turn toward the darkness; after a young girl, Antoinette Giry, had rescued me and hid me from the world's cruelties, I had turned to the darkness of the depths below the Opera Populaire. From this I had created the music that had come from my soul, inspired from the music I'd heard trickling down through the cracks of the opera house's foundation and into the lair where I had taken up a solitary, lonely residence.

I snapped back into reality, realizing I had let my thoughts take over me.

_"Angel of music, guide and guardian..." _I heard a familiar young voice sing to me. _"Grant to me your glory..."_

"Christine..." I whispered.

For once I could not tell whether I was remembering the words she'd sung to me or actually hearing them.

"Phantom!" I heard Christine's voice once again. "_Angel_!"

I heard hurried footsteps on the stone steps leading down into my lair; knowing the staircase was rigged with trap doors, I shot to my feet, worrying for Christine's safety. But the pain in all of my limbs was almost unbearable; immediately, I found myself not caring about the pain. But as I tried to walk toward where Christine's voice was coming from, I collapsed onto my knees, finding the pain too much for me.

"_... Angel of music, hide no longer..." _I heard her words seeping down toward me. "_Come to me strange angel..."_

"_I am your angel of music. Come to me, angel of music!_" I sang into the loneliness around me.

Then I heard the footsteps quicken toward me and then I saw Christine enter the beginning of my lair. She gasped, running toward me; I barely breathed. My angel was here for certain this time! I smiled weakly but I knew I couldn't move for the pain in my limbs was far too great even for me, a great master mind of such strength. Christine came to my side and she hugged me, which startled me to say the least. She buried her face in my shoulder, a gesture which startled me even more than previously.

"Oh, Phantom... I'm so sorry for what happened up there." She told me.

"It - it hurts ... It hurts me, Christine." I whispered back.

"Where are you hurting?"

"All over my body."

"Let's get you back to your lair."

"Why - why are you helping me?" I asked her, already knowing the answer.

"You don't deserve anymore abuse from this world." She hugged me yet again. "I came down here to find you and help you."

I wanted her to kiss me so badly but I didn't show this on my face.

I knew it would come in time for she was going to take care of me and we would, most likely, grow closer to one another. Although I'd overheard her say that she loved me in the dressing room but even still, I couldn't believe that she was continuing to show me such kindness in a way I had never known before in my entire life. I groaned in pain as she took my arm and helped me to stand; I was shocked when I no longer felt searing pain coursing through my body.

It was as though Christine had healed my aching body with her gentle, angelic presence.

Now I immediately regretted ever abducting her from her dressing room and causing her so much pain and frightening her so just because I wanted someone to love me. I felt like crying and I felt the prickle of hot tears in the backs of my eyes.

"I'm a monster, Christine. I don't deserve your kindness." I could feel my voice crack as I said this.

Christine placed her lips on my forehead and kissed me while walking with me to the boat that would transport us across my lake and into my lair.

"No, Phantom." She told me. "I think you've suffered enough from this world."

She lay her head on my shoulder as we walked and I felt my arm snake around her lovingly for the first time. For a few moments, all I could hear were the echoes of our footsteps as we continued walking. It was before long that we finally got to the lake where my boat awaited the both of us; I took Christine's hand in my black gloved one and led her into the boat first before myself. She sat down and I picked up the oar, stepping into the boat as to balance it, avoiding tipping over and dumping my angel over into the water.

I pushed off the bottom of the lake with the oar and rowed, my arm feeling a lot better than it had.

Christine turned to me and gazed up at my face.

"Phantom..." She said quietly.

"Yes, my dear... ?" I asked, keeping my gaze straight ahead.

"I need to tell you something..."

"What is it, my angel?"

I continued to row until we reached the main area of my lair and I leapt onto the rocky floor; I turned toward Christine and extended my hand to her. I could detect a hint of fear in her eyes, which made me feel sorry for her. But why she was afraid of me after I had been so gentle with her in the past few moments was beyond me. She took my hand and stepped out into my lair along with me; I felt her wrap her arms around my waist, causing my pulse to quicken and I put my arms around her slender body as well.

"Don't be afraid of me, Christine..." I said to her.

"Phantom..." She said to me quietly. "The last time I was here, we kissed... and... I..." She began, looking as though she was about to cry. "I felt differently about you... but, I couldn't let Raoul see because I knew he would try to kill you."

I held her face in my gloved hands and watched as she looked up at me, all the fear in the world in her eyes.

_"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..." _I sung to her, obviously driving her mad. "_Lead me, save me from my solitude... Say you want me with you, here beside you... Anywhere you go let me go too..."__  
_

A small tear slipped down her pale face and she stayed silent as I sang to her, looking as though I was mesmerizing her with my voice.

_"Christine... that's all I ask of you..." _I whispered to her.

Christine looked up to me once again. "Phantom... I realized that I love you."

My heart was thundering in my chest at this point and I looked down to her.

It felt so wonderful to hear those words to pass her lips for the first time, genuine feeling behind them.

Taking a leap of faith, I leaned down to her and closed my eyes, feeling her soft lips meet mine for the second time since the two of us had known each other. It may have been the second time but it had felt as wonderful as the first time she had ever acted this way toward me. There, in that moment, I felt something that hadn't been there before. It was a spark between the two of us, the first time I'd ever known such a feeling.

Christine's lips left mine and I felt my abhorrent face twist into a smile, tears meeting my eyes.

I was happy, genuinely happy for the first time in my entire life.

Then Christine smiled as I had and she reached up to my face, probably to remove my mask. Normally, for anyone else, I _never_ would have allowed this... but for the woman who loved me, I would give anything. And by this point, she could do anything she wanted to me and I wouldn't care. Ever since I had seen her for the first time through her dressing room mirror, I had been in love with her and now she was mine. And now I was hers also.

But I was extremely surprised when I realized that my mask was still on my face.

She lowered her hand from my mask and to my face and touched it gently.

"Phantom..." She said to me.

"My name is Erik_..._" I replied quietly, winding my arms around her waist.

"Erik." Christine whispered. "Let me stay here with you."

"_What_?" I asked, shocked to hear this news. I dropped my arms from around her waist.

"I don't want to go back up there. Raoul will find me and try to kill you again." Christine replied shakily, scaring even me with her fear.

"No. You have to go back to the opera house."

Christine shook her head slowly. "Please. Don't make me go back there."

She hugged me once again and put her arms around my waist, not intent to let go at any point.

"Very well, my dear." I whispered.

Christine reached up to my face and took my mask in her hand before I brought my hand up to stop her; I met her eyes and shook my head slowly. She'd known what I looked like for a while now, having ripped my mask off my face during the performance of _Don Juan Triumphant_, my own opera, which had forsaken me so. I gave a whimper of protest which caused my angel to just stare up at me.

"No..." I told her quietly. "Christine, please don't..."

"Please let me, Erik."

Although she had seen it before, I couldn't bear to let her see my face again.

I had endured so much abuse and damage to my soul from this cruel, cruel world and although I had the most wonderful woman in the world to love me, I didn't want to haunt her with such a sight. But my heart told me to just grin and bear it and let her take my mask off, dropping the ivory half mask to the floor; I felt her gentle hand meet the side of my face that I wore my mask on.

Her touch was like that of an angel and by now I was so intoxicated by her that I, once again, felt myself not caring about what she did.

I closed my eyes, feeling her remove my mask, a blast of cold air hitting my now exposed cheek and up the side of my face.

Her gentle brown eyes were filled with sympathy as they scanned my face, not drawing back in fear at all. I didn't blame her for she had seen it twice before; it shocked me when she touched my deformity, stroking my cheek and she pulled me down toward her to wind her arm around my neck. And, much to my surprise, she began kissing me on my horrid face. Her soft lips meeting my face caused me to let out a soft moan, something even I, the Phantom of The Opera, could not control despite my best effort.

I couldn't control tears that began rolling down my face and Christine cleared them away with her gentle hand. She then kissed me gently at first but then passionately and I could barely contain myself as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I slowly put my arms around her small waist and kissed her in response, picking her up and carrying her to my bed beyond the main part of my cold, dark lair.

I lay her down softly and climbed into the bed next to her, her lips having left mine.

"Erik..." She placed her hand on my face.

"I want to stay here with you... forever."

What she had said had shocked even me.

"You- you- do...?"

"Yes." Christine whispered to me. "I'll help you write your operas... and I'll sing for you." She kissed me and she put her hands on both sides of my face. "I'll be your bride as well."

"Christine..." I began crying again, unable to believe that this was really happening to me. She hugged me once again and I shuddered, sobbing uncontrollably by this time. "I love you..."

* * *

**Christine's POV**

I had see the way the Phantom - whose name I now knew was Erik - had changed just by those moments we'd spent together down into his lair. All the sadness in the world I had seen in his eyes had now turned to happiness. I couldn't wait until the day Erik and I would finally be wed; just the very thought of becoming his bride made my heart race uncontrollably. Even as we walked back to my dressing room through the dismal hallways of his lair, I could feel that Erik loved way he held my hand in such a gentle grip made me realize that I had been very wrong to turn my back on my angel and go off with Raoul in the first place.

_He _truly loved me and _Raoul _had been the wrong person for me all along, I'd just had a tough time seeing through either of them. And for someone who had never been treated with compassion by the world, I didn't blame him. Instead, I pitied him. I relived the first time I had ever met him in my mind.

Vividly, I remembered the first time I had seen his shape in the shadows, his dark silhouette in the mirror. He had worn a black cape, an overcoat, pants, leather gloves, and boots of the same color, a reddish-brown silken vest and a black scarf-like tie with a white collar and last but certainly not least, he wore his trademark half mask.

At first I had thought he'd been a ghost, a figment of my imagination. But the way he'd sung to me made me realize that he was much more than that. I'd thought he had been my Angel of Music, only to find out that he was the infamous "Phantom of The Opera" whom everyone thought was a mysterious, dangerous man.

But, as I'd soon discovered, he was a disheveled mess of a man. He was a genius, and nothing short of one, but a creature of darkness subjected to many years of torment by the world because of a secret he held, later revealed to me to be his wickedly deformed face.

I had feared this man for as long as I'd known him but now I couldn't believe that I was in love with him and that he was in love with me.

"Those fools will be missing you." He said quietly, nuzzling me while putting his arms on my shoulders.

"Oh, Erik, I wish you could go with me." I replied.

He gently placed one hand on my face as I slowly looked up to his face which was now covered by his half mask again. Sadness filled his eyes as he looked down at me, sharing in the quiet moment between us.

"Do not fear, my love." Erik told me. "I'll always be there in the shadows, watching over you."

I smiled and I turned away from him. "I must go."

Erik took my wrist gently and pulled me back toward him; then he hugged me and buried his face in my curly brown hair. I placed my hand on his face and began stroking his cheek gently, slowly causing him to release me from his arms.

"It'll be all right." I whispered. "We won't be parted for long. I'll come back after supper tonight. I promise."

I kissed him on the cheek. Then he took my hand that was on his cheek and he kissed it gently.

"Very well."

"Are you sure you can't come with me?" I asked him.

"It is far too soon, my dear." Erik replied. "Now you must go."

We reached the two-way mirror and I watched as Erik pulled the door open.

I stepped out into my dressing room, his hand still holding my own, and I turned back to him. Erik leaned down and kissed me softly and watched as I crossed my dressing room to disappear behind my folding screen behind which I would change my outfit for the night to go to supper. I changed quickly, choosing a long white gown to wear with a diamond necklace around my neck, and stepped out from behind my screen.

I turned toward my vanity, going to brush my hair when I realized a man stood in front of it.

I yelped, shooting backward, and I put one hand to my chest. It was Erik.

"Erik! What are you doing here?"

He stood with his back to the rest of the room and turned toward me, a small smile on his face.

"Did I scare you, my dear?"

"You shouldn't be here, Erik!" I said, still in shock.

I grabbed his muscular arm, trying my best to drag him toward the mirror, but the man I had always known as the Phantom did not budge.

Erik only looked at me and smiled.

"You worry far too much!" He told me. "If anyone came in here now, the _Phantom of the Opera_, would be gone in no time."

I smiled at him and continued to push him toward the mirror.

"Erik! You've go to go! Now!"

But, yet again, Erik wouldn't budge. I eventually gave up my struggle to get him back through the mirror and noticed that he was looking at my pictures of my father.

"Is this your father?" He asked me.

I felt tears in the backs of my eyes. "Yes." I whispered. "I was orphaned when I was only seven and Madame Giry brought me to come live here."

Erik seemed interested at this comment and he placed the old pictures on my vanity gently; he frowned and turned toward me, taking my hands in his own. "I am terribly sorry, my dear."

He whispered back to me.

He kissed me on the cheek and nuzzled me, winding his arms around my waist gently as he held me from behind. But his grip on me was very loose, as though he knew I was going to turn away from him in fear, leading me to think I should have had a reason to fear him anymore. But I knew that Erik wasn't going to hurt me, despite all he had previously done to me.

"It's been years. I'm all right now. But I still miss him."

"I understand, my angel." He kissed me on the cheek. "At least you had parents who loved you. I never did. My own mother sold me to a freak show."

I touched his cheek gently and met his brown eyes that were filled with sadness still.

"I'm so sorry, Erik." I whispered to him.

Then there was a knock on my dressing room door and immediately the both of us panicked, looking to each other for a moment, and dashing toward the mirror; Erik nearly leaped into the mirror and disappeared behind it into the shadows. I looked back to the door of the dressing room and hesitated before turning toward it.

"Just a second! I'm changing!" I called.

I turned back to the mirror, looking for Erik.

"Erik!" I whispered.

Then I watched as he reappeared in the mirror with a small smile on his face.

"You will come back, will you not?" He asked me.

"Yes! Now you must go!"

He leaned toward me and took me in one arm for a quick hug; then I pulled him in toward me and I kissed him passionately, grabbing him by his black scarf-like tie. When I heard another knock at the door, Erik pulled away from me and, with one last hug, he disappeared back into the shadows beyond the mirror.

He pulled the golden frame back into its original position and smiled at me before disappearing once again into the shadows.

"I will be watching over you, my love." He said to me through the glass.

Then I turned back to the door and went to open it; I was surprised when Madame Giry and Meg stood before me, looking rather concerned.

"Madame Giry! Meg!" I exclaimed.

Meg seemed worried about me, entering my dressing room before her mother. Madame Giry entered a few moments later.

"Are you all right, my dear?" Madame Giry asked.

"Oh, yes. Of course." I replied.

"You seemed rather distraught after what happened with Raoul." Meg said to me.

"Oh, not at all. Not after the Phantom came to save me, that is."

"He ees the reason why we are 'ere." Madame Giry told me.

"What did he do to you when he took you back to his lair?"

"Nothing, Meg!" I said in shock. "He didn't take me anywhere. _I_ went to see _him_!"

"Why would you go to see him?" Meg continued to question me.

"I..." I began, not wanting either them to know the truth about the love I had for him. "I just went down there to thank him for what he did. I left immediately afterward."

* * *

**Phantom(Erik)'s POV**

I watched in the blackness behind the mirror, my head level and my thoughts of nothing except my angel. I kept my eyes on her and solely her, watching her as she, Madame Giry, and Meg talked to one another. Christine seemed unnerved, like they were trying to corner as though she were a helpless animal to be killed by a predator. This made my blood race in my veins and I felt the need to intervene. But, remembering my actions on the stage earlier that evening, I refrained. I knew it was only my job to be her angel, her protector, to watch over her from beyond in the mirror.

And to be her lover behind closed doors where no one could see us was another... a job I would be glad to do for the rest of my life.

_Christine, I love you. _I thought to her.

"Christine!" Madame Giry said to my love in her rather thick French accent. "You must never see ze Phantom again. He ees a murderer and there 'ave been too many accidents."

"That's not fair. The man saves my life on more than one occasion, despite suffering emotional torture from everyone he has ever met, and he receives no thanks for it?"

"My dear... I think I should tell you..." Madame Giry said to her. "... The vicomte is leaving the opera house and refuses to finance any of our productions..."

_Good. That prissy prima donna is finally going to leave us all! _I rejoiced in my mind.

"That's out of my control-" Christine began.

"Please! My dear! I don't think you understand!" Madame Giry raised her voice to my angel, causing my anger to rise even more. "He will stay... if you agree to marry him... But, if you refuse, he will try to kill you... and the Phantom..."

"He can't do that!" Christine said to Madame Giry.

"Christine, you _must_ go to see le vicomte tonight after you eat supper with us tonight. Eet ees the only way..."

I was not shocked nor surprised since it had almost come to be before. But I was worried about Christine; I had seen the way she'd jumped at the mention that I would have to die due to her fiance's greed.

By this time, Christine, I could tell, was about to cry.

I just wanted to leap out of the mirror and hold her in my arms.

But, I knew, my time would come.

Though I felt this way, at this point, I could not stand this anymore!

I had to do something to protect Christine from her former lover!

And though I had this great urge to leap out of the mirror and take Christine down into my lair like I had done with her when I'd first met her to hide her from the world, I refrained once again. I then watched, my fury growing within me, as Madame Giry, Christine and Meg all filed out the door, heading to supper. I still hid in the shadows, watching my angel as I'd promised her, and I saw Christine glance back at the mirror.

She had not seen me, which I knew was for the best, and she turned away.

The door closed behind the three of them and I slid the mirror aside, making my way out into the room.

From inside my cape, I produced a crimson red rose with a black ribbon tied around its stem, a symbol, I expected, that Christine had known for a while now; I slowly raised it to my lips and kissed it. I placed it on her vanity and glanced at it for a second before turning back to the mirror. But, before I stepped back into the beginning of my lair, I turned back toward her vanity and the rose; then my eyes went to the door.

"Soon, my love." I whispered. "Your angel will be with you again soon."

Then I turned away, slipping back into the blackness beyond the mirror as I slid it back into place.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**I hope you all enjoyed! Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)  
**


	3. Chapter 3: All I Ask Of You

**Guardian Angels**

**A _Phantom Of The Opera_ Fanfiction**

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: I do _NOT_ own _Phantom. _:( Although I wish I did. It belongs to Mr. Gaston Leroux originally and the music to Mr. Andrew Lloyd Webber :)**

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: Once again, I'm having way too much fun writing this :) I'm kind of on a _Phantom_ high right now. Please enjoy! Review too!**

**8.18.2010 - I know this is late but I've been sidetracked for a few days. Please enjoy anyway! :)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three**

**Christine's POV**

I had barely eaten anything all night.

Worrying about Erik, I was way too sick to eat without taking the risk of throwing up.

But I had to maintain the image that nothing was wrong; although my back was turned to all the other chorus girls, I could feel their eyes on me and I could hear their gossip about me. I sat alone, hunched over my food in my own solitude. The dining hall was a grand room that was very plain with many, many picnic tables, exposed rafters leading up to the ceiling and a rickety wooden mezzanine built just around the perimeter of the room; it really made me aware of the pain Erik had felt in his solitude.

He had a place to hide away from the world, sure, but I knew true pain. It was a cold, hollow feeling to have people reject me just because of what had happened when Erik had come to save me from Raoul. Now I could understand why Erik had done all of those terrible things in his past.

I felt so small, so vulnerable and it made me worry about the fact that Raoul was going to find me.

Feeling like this was unbearable... and I just wanted to cry.

Not for myself... but for Erik; he had already suffered so much from this cruel world and now Raoul was going to try and kill him again. I couldn't control my thoughts from remaining on Erik although I was worried about seeing Raoul once again; I let my mind wander and I began to wonder where Erik could be right now.

Was he stalking around in the mezzanine above, watching over me in the darkness as he had promised me?

Or could he be in his lair still?

I slowly brought myself to look up and my eyes scanned the darkness above me, searching for my lover.

_Christine... _His voice rang in my head.

Then I spotted a small spot of white, a half-circle, in the darkness.

I continued to scan the darkness with my eyes and I was able to make out the face of the figure standing there watching over me. I immediately knew it was my angel; then I smiled up at him and I saw him return the smile. Erik leaned forward on the railing of the mezzanine and continued to watch me, his head the only thing I could see in the darkness with a smile, one unlike I've ever seen on him before, plastered on his face.

From this I could tell he was genuinely happy for the first time in his entire life since we had fallen in love.

"I love you" I mouthed to him.

His smile grew wider as he replied to me.

This caused tears to begin streaming down my face and I turned back to my food, trying to make it look as though I was actually eating. Then I looked back up to Erik who raised one black gloved hand to his lips, his index finger pressed up against them, signaling for me not to draw any more attention to him. Then he pulled his cape around his face, his hand over his mask, melting back into his surroundings.

* * *

**Phantom/Erik's POV**

I stealthily crept down the spiral staircase out of the mezzanine, disguised against the darkness, and down into the shadows under the mezzanine surrounding the dining hall.

I peered out from behind a beam that was one of many supporting the mezzanine on all of its sides and nearly fainted as I saw Christine begin to eat, looking so weak from the fatigue consuming her. My angel, even in a dark time in her life, was as radiant as ever. But I knew that Raoul was probably looking for her, on the prowl to take her for himself once again. At that moment I was consumed by hatred and anger toward the vicomte and what he had done to Christine before I had saved her.

_Soon, my angel. _I remembered my words.

I nodded slowly, knowing that indeed I would be with her once again... but I knew it was far too early to reveal myself to the world as her lover. I hoped that there would be a day where I could gain the courage to show the world that I was not the man I had been before.

Before the final confrontation in my lair below the Opera Populaire on the night of _Don Juan Triumphant_, I had been a cold-hearted, lonely beast shunned from the world. Now I was back to this world and better than ever; I had a woman who loved me and my dark despair had been broken by her presence. Her kiss, the first time anyone had ever shown me compassion in such a way, had broken my curse and freed me from my solitude.

Then I felt someone bump into me.

I pulled my cape around my face and I turned to them and watched as the person turned toward me. Uncovering my face from my cape, I realized it was one of my managers, Richard Firmin. He was a tall man, as tall as I was, with blackish-grey hair combed back on his head and a thick mustache of the same color. The man I was forced to call my manager gasped and began running away, not getting very far away before I grabbed him by his collar and held him in front of me.

"Oh, my God!" He whispered, obviously terrified.

"Listen to me, _Monsieur Firmin_..." I said with a wide grin, threatening to choke him.

"No! Please! Don't kill me!" He begged, shaking. "I'll do-"

I placed on hand over his mouth and sighed.

"I am not going to kill you." I whispered back. "But if I let you go, you have to _swear_ to me that you will not tell _anyone_ you saw me - or that I was even here! No one! Not Madame Giry, not monsieur Andre, nor even Miss Daaé!"

Monsieur Firmin nodded several times and I released him, leaving him on the floor as a huge, shaking mess.

"Now, be a good manager and forget you ever saw me! Now!" I whispered.

Suddenly, he began running away and disappeared around a corner. Once he was gone, I spotted his short and gray-haired business partner, Monsieur Gilles Andre. This man's eyes landed on me and they grew wide with fear as I stood there smiling devilishly at him.

"Oh... my... God..."

"Boo." I whispered.

He didn't react, except with a slight flinch as I pretended to come after him. This sent the already somewhat nervous man into a fit of utter terror.

He yelped and began running in the same direction Firmin had just run in a few seconds ago. Then I turned my attention toward where Christine was sitting and I realized that she had gotten up to leave the dining hall. I immediately turned away and disappeared into the darkness to go back to my lair at long last.

Later that night, I found myself sitting on the bench in front of my organ, softly running my hands over the keys, having mixed emotions about this situation. I began to think about how I had first met Christine and how she had changed my life forever, making me gentle and kind toward the world. I allowed my fingers to play random notes until I came up with a melody in my head and I began making up words to go along with it.

Then I reached for a piece of paper and a quill to write down the lyrics that had shot into my head in that instant:

_No one would listen _

_No one but her _

_No one _

_Heard as the outcast hears_

I began, thinking more about my past beyond Christine. I stopped for a few seconds, painfully remembering the freak show I'd been sold into years and years before by my own mother and how I'd been tormented by my face. Then I began to play again and I scribbled even more words onto the paper in front of me:

_Shamed into solitude... _

_Shunned by the multitude... _

_No one would listen... _

_I learned to listen... _

Then, just as quickly as the words had met me there in the darkness, they had left me.

"Think, you pitiful gargoyle, think..." I scolded myself under my breath.

And just like that, the words came back to my mind.

I began to write them again:

_In the dark, my heart heard music... _

_I long to teach the world... _

_Rise up and reach the world..._

_No one would listen..._

A smile came to my face as I thought about how Christine and I had fallen in love.

_I alone could hear the music_

_Then at last_

_A voice in the gloom_

_Seemed to cry_

_'I hear you'_

_'I hear your fears,_

_Your torment and your tears'_

I picked up a rose from one of the vases around me and thought of Christine, looking at it.

I remembered my lover's promise:_ We won't be parted for long. I'll come back after supper tonight. I promise._

Then I continued to write, the thought of Christine causing my heart to flutter.

_She saw my loneliness_

_Shared in my emptiness_

_No one would listen_

_No one but her_

_Heard as the outcast hears_

_No one would listen_

_No one but her_

_Heard as the outcast hears..._

I lay the piece of paper down on the top of the organ, allowing to dry and I got up from the bench. Slowly walking over to where my mirrors were, all smashed and the glass laying in pieces on the stony ground, I stopped to notice my reflection in their shattered remains. I knelt down next to the glass and I began piecing the shards back together with the index finger of my right hand.

Then, as my full reflection took shape in the glass below me, I imagined Christine and I on our wedding day, a day which I knew would be the greatest day of my entire life. On that day, she would walk down the aisle to me and promise to love me for the rest of her life. And I would do the same...

Then and only then would I be truly happy...

A quiet voice pierced through the silence that had settled around me.

"Erik."

I turned, looking up and immediately I saw my angel.

"Christine." I felt a smile cross my face.

Christine began walking toward me and I met her halfway, holding my arm out for her to take. She leaned up to kiss me on the cheek and I led her over to the organ where I sat down on the bench and invited her to sit on my thigh as I began stroking the keys gently, letting the notes of my newest song fill the emptiness of my lair.

My angel smiled as she leaned her head against my own and she kissed my cheek once again.

"That's very beautiful..." She said. "Who wrote that?"

I smiled, continuing to play the organ and my eyes went to the sheet music I had written.

"I did." I said proudly. "Why don't you take a look at it, my dear?" I motioned toward the sheet of paper sitting on the top of the organ and Christine reached for it; I ceased playing the organ and watched as she read it.

Christine began reading it and paused in the middle of it to smile at me. "Who is this about?"

"It's about you." I pulled her close and placed a small kiss on her cheek. "And how I felt when I met you."

Christine began smoothing my hair back against my head and she kissed me on the cheek in return.

"Will you sing it for me?"

"I would love to."

"But now, my dear, I'm afraid it's time for bed." Christine said to me.

Then she began whispering in my ear, surprising me. "I love you, Erik."

"I love you, too, Christine."

I then turned to her; she began kissing me passionately and I felt her get up off of my leg as she wrapped her arm around my neck and I picked her up off of her feet, carrying her over to my bed in the back of my lair.

* * *

**Christine's POV**

I opened my eyes, realizing that I was completely naked and laying under Erik's black cape as my angel slept quietly at my side; I blinked, looking around the lair and then it hit me. We, the "Phantom of the Opera" and I, had done the unthinkable. He lay on his side, his half-masked face burrowed into my side and I smiled as I stroked his head gently. He snored lightly and I kissed his head, tempted to remove his mask from his face but I hesitated, knowing it was a very bad idea.

I knew it would only lead to him getting angry and yelling at me for exposing his face to the world, a face with which I didn't see anything wrong.

"Erik..." I whispered to him.

"Hmmm?" He answered.

I giggled under my breath, able to feel his breath tickling my side.

Then I began shaking him by his shoulder. "Come on, angel. Get up."

Erik groaned and rolled over onto his stomach so that his words were muffled even more; but I listened and I caught something about his music. I gave him a confused look and pushed him over onto his back. He wrinkled his face and opened his eyes, blinking before he looked to me and smiled.

I smiled as well and placed a kiss on his forehead.

Then he got up off the bed.

I blushed, realizing that he was only wearing a bath robe with a sash tied loosely around his waist. He crossed his lair, making his way over to his organ on the other side of the room. He began to sing the song he had written the night before and I listened, sitting up with his cape pressed up against my naked body.

I began changing back into my clothes that, for a portion of the night, had been in a heap on the other side of the bed and I made sure that Erik couldn't see me. I peered out around the stone wall toward the organ where he sat, running his fingers over the keys and pulled my head, knowing that he wouldn't have looked even if he'd wanted to.

_This is something I could get used to... _I thought, making my way down the stone stairs and to my lover, also thinking about how Raoul had never given me any privacy.

I approached him from behind and wrapped my arms around his neck; I immediately expected him to throw me off of him like a disgruntled horse irritated with its rider might... but he didn't even budge. Instead I felt his lips meet my arm, kissing it several times up and down. I leaned my head on his shoulder and kissed him on the masked side of his face, causing him to fall motionless for a few seconds.

There was something different about the lair this morning since it had been dinner time early yesterday evening.

The air was cold and smoky, the scent of countless candles burning all around us, all as usual. But it wasn't the lair, per se, that smelled different... It was _someone _in the lair that did. As I got closer to Erik, I realized he was wearing some sort of cologne. It smelled familiar.

Like_... Raoul._

_No! _I screamed in my mind. _Say it isn't so..._

"Erik..." I whispered to him.

"Yes, my dear?" He answered, continuing to play the piano.

"Why... do you smell like Raoul?"

"Oh. I went through his trunk last night while you were at supper." The Phantom of The Opera replied to me with a smile on his face. "Do not fear. The De Chagny boy got exactly what he deserved. He is not dead. He is fine, actually. I just messed everything of his that was in your dressing room up. And I even brought back a few souvenirs." He pointed to the spot next to the mannequin of me where two piles of clothes lay.

Then, with a smile, he motioned to the robe he was wearing.

I laughed under my breath and kissed him gently on the cheek. "You always know how to make a mess of things, don't you?"

His eyes met mine. "Yes." He answered, nuzzling me. Then he paused, turning around and he took my hand in his own. "You must be hungry, my dear. Let us go up to the dining hall for breakfast."

Erik got up off the bench and I watched him cross the lair. He disappeared into the alcove beyond his bed and I waited for a few seconds for him to change. He reappeared a few seconds later, wearing the outfit in which I had first seen him, smoothing his black wig back on his head and straightening his ivory half mask on his face.

"Are you ready, my dear?" He asked me.

I smiled up at him as he approached me and took my hand, leading me into the boat. "Yes."

* * *

**Author's Note: In case you all are wondering... that song the Phantom "writes" was actually a deleted song from the movie which I just happened to think would be appropriate. I hope you enjoyed :) REVIEW, please!  
**


	4. Chapter 4: The Man Behind The Monster

**Guardian Angels**

**A _Phantom Of The Opera_ Fanfiction**

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: Phantom doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Mr. Andrew Lloyd Webber :)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: I love writing new chapters and I'm so excited because of where this story is going! Please enjoy! :)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Four**

**Phantom/Erik's POV**

As I walked with Christine through the hall leading to her dressing room, I began to notice a feeling I had never felt before.

My face, the side hidden under my mask, began itching and stinging. I knew I couldn't scratch at it because if I did, the wound that would become of the afflicted area would scar and make my already-abhorrent face even worse. I ducked into the shadows and removed my mask, noticing that we were near the mirror and that someone could be in Christine's dressing room to see my face.

"Damn you!" I cursed aloud.

"Wha- Erik?" Christine asked me. "Darling! What's the matter?" She felt through the darkness to reach me. I felt her arm on my own and she pulled me out of the darkness, looking up into my eyes. She touched the deformed part of my face and gave me a look of grave concern.

"My bloody face is itching and stinging and it's driving me mad."

"Come on. I'll take care of you." She told me.

"No." I protested her. "I can't be seen like this."

"I won't let anyone see you if you don't want them to. Now come on, Erik." She said to me, grabbing my hand. "I'll make sure the coast is clear."

Christine peered out of the mirror for a second and pulled it open, making sure that no one was in her dressing room; she then took my hand, leading me out into the dressing room through its opening. She led me to sit down on the stool in front of her vanity and when she wasn't looking, I uncovered my face and stared at myself in the mirror.

I sighed, bearing the pain for as long as I could without driving myself even crazier.

"Christine..." I whispered to her. "How did you learn to love a man like me?"

"Well... Once you showed me who you really were inside when you let Raoul and I go... I began to fall in love with you." She began, walking toward me with a towel she'd soaked with warm water and she lay it on my face to ease my pain for the time being; "And you were right... I learned to see the man behind..." She paused, removing the towel from my face and she kissed me on my afflicted face. We both looked into the mirror at the same time and I met the eyes of her reflection. She smiled; "... what everyone else sees." She wrapped her arms around my neck affectionately. "And it doesn't matter to me that you may be or look different from other people, Erik. You're beautiful to me just the way you are. I wouldn't change that for the world."

I wanted to cry at her words; even now I could feel tears in my eyes that seemed uncontrollable.

"Do you really mean that?" I asked her.

"Of course I do." She kissed me gently, placing the towel over my face once again. "Just keep it on your face for a minute. Your skin is just a little bit irritated from you wearing your mask for so long."

I held the towel to my face as she had told me and I watched her cross the room to change behind her screen.

I sighed and I instantly felt better, the sensation of the towel on my face almost numbing my abhorrent affliction.

Then I felt someone lift the towel off my face; I opened my eyes to see that Christine was busy gently drying the wet area with a dry towel and she moved on to applying some sort of remedy to my face.

I flinched, finding that it stung at first but then it felt soothing, taking care of the bad sensations.

She then stopped me from placing my ivory mask back over my deformity and I looked into the mirror. I placed my hand over my face, happy to see that I was recognizable to myself yet again. I smiled.

"There. Feel better?" My angel asked me.

"Yes." I replied.

I nearly leaped up from the stool in front of the vanity and swept Christine up into my arms, silently thanking her for all she had done for me. Christine lay her head on my left shoulder and began playing with my hair.

Then she began away from me, causing me great confusion.

"Where are you going, my dear?" I asked her.

"You'll see." She replied. "Stay right there."

I waited for her to return once she had left me, closing my eyes impatiently. Then I felt her put something on my face that felt as though it were lotion.

I opened my eyes.

"When I get done with you, you won't recognize yourself at all." She told me.

"What are you putting on my face?"

"Oh, just a little bit of makeup." Christine replied.

"_Make up_?" I nearly shrieked, ripping away from her so that the sponge smeared the make up across the bad side of my face. "You think I do not have enough dignity left, do you? I look like a freak and you want to make me look even worse, is that it?" I flared, grabbing Christine roughly by her wrists. "Well, I have had enough from this world!"

She gasped abruptly, causing me to realize what I had done to her. Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled with despair, silently asking me why I had snapped at her in my uncontrollable rage. Christine pushed a strand of her curly brown hair back behind her ear, causing me to pause and think about what had just transpired between us.

Christine barely breathed.

I released her delicate wrists slowly, looking down at them in horror to see that there were terrible red marks around them now. I slapped my hands to my face in shame and hung my head for I had betrayed her. I, the Phantom of the Opera, was at a loss for words for the first time in my entire life and I regretted the fact that I had hurt someone I loved very dearly. But I immediately knew that Christine would never forgive me.

"I... I'm... sorry..."

Ashamed of myself, I turned back toward the mirror that was still cracked open a little and leaped into the darkness behind it.

"Leave me alone to die. I don't deserve anyone's love."

I felt a hand take my own gently. "Erik, don't be ridiculous."

I hung my head in the darkness. "I don't deserve to be in your presence."

"Come on, now." Christine whispered to me. "My opinion of you hasn't changed because of what happened. You're human. Humans get mad occasionally."

"I'm not human, Christine." I whispered in return. "I'm a monster!"

"You think you're not like me?" She asked me.

"No." I told her. "I don't look anything like you."

"What makes you think we're so different?"

"Just take one look at me! Look at my face and tell me that you don't see the monster!"

"I don't! You want to know what I really see?"

I didn't respond.

"I see a man. I see two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two ears..." She ran her hand down my face, causing me to sigh rather contentedly. The young woman stopped on my shoulders; "... You have a front and a back, two legs, two arms, everything that every other man on this planet has..." My angel then lay her hand on the middle of my chest. She kissed me gently on the cheek, muffling her words. "... And you have a heart... a heart I don't even think you realize you have."

I looked up to her, my eyes wide at this point. I wanted to cry again.

I could feel tears welling in my eyes.

She nuzzled me. "Come on, Erik."

It took her a few seconds for her to persuade me from my position from behind the mirror for her words were just sinking into my heart.

She had been right but still I couldn't believe that I could be loved by such a wonderful angel like her.

Christine kissed my cheek gently before making me sit down on the vanity seat and she continued to cake my face with makeup. I flinched slightly, finding the makeup slightly chilly on my deformed side of my face.

"Why exactly are you putting that on me?" I asked.

"Well, you don't want people to know who you are, do you?"

Before I could answer, I felt her place something that felt like a mask over my face.

I wondered if it was my mask that she put on my face and I watched her continue to smear the make up over it although I could barely feel it.

I glanced at the mirror and realized that I looked completely normal, as though my deformity had just disappeared off my face.

She'd used a smooth, face-like prosthetic on me and was covering it up with makeup.

Christine smiled as I looked into the mirror. "What do you think?"

"I hardly recognize myself." I barely breathed.

"Well, personally, I prefer you just the way you are." Christine replied to me.

I was normal for once in my life... I couldn't believe it.

This was a dream come true.

Now I didn't have to hide my face behind my ivory mask tonight.

"I have to go get my wig!" I said.

"Oh, no, Erik!" Christine replied, pulling me back down onto the stool at the vanity. "I've already got it."

I realized I looked at her somewhat helplessly and sat back down, knowing that she was the one who knew what was best for me.

"Oh, you're a saint, Christine." I nearly whispered to her.

Before she placed the wig on my head, she ran a wet brush through my real hair. Then she put the wig on my head and began brushing it, making me look even better and she smiled, looking into the mirror toward me. Then she kissed my forehead gently. "Is the big, bad Phantom of the Opera ready to make his debut again?"

I returned the kiss. "_Now, _let's go."

* * *

**Author's Note: I know, I know... I've been away for a while but I hope you enjoy it anyway! :D**


End file.
